Jones praises ‘magnificent’ Owls

Paul Thompson
Sheffield Wednesday

DAVE Jones is grateful to his players for making it a smooth start to his Hillsborough reign.

The Owls chief and his squad are aiming for a fifth win in six games when Preston visit Hillsborough on Saturday.

It would be continuation on an upward path after the club reclaimed second place with their 1-0 win at Leyton Orient.

Jones told The Star he rates Saturday’s performance at Leyton Orient as the best since he took over.

He did not have to make any tactical changes during the game and remains delighted with the way players are listening to instructions.

“They have been magnificent; I can’t fault any one of them,” said Jones amid preparations for Preston’s visit.

“They have all responded in the right way - even the lads who were left out have been brilliant. Nobody likes to be left out. But it’s a squad game and it keeps everybody fresh.

“The players have been listening to what we’ve been saying - that’s why I was so pleased with Saturday.

“They’re trying to play it liked they’ve been asked. We got ourselves into a bit of trouble now and again against Orient but you can’t ask someone to do something then have a go if it doesn’t come off.”

Attacking tactics worked so well that Jones did not make changes to protect the lead - a ploy sometimes used by his predecessor, Gary Megson.

“It was easy for me to change a forward for a forward because we weren’t under any concerted pressure,” said the new boss.

“I know we beat Bury 4-1 but I thought that, though we didn’t score as many goals last Saturday, the performance was our best in terms of creating chances and our dominance.”